I was invited to go up in the Yak by Arthur one day. Now, I have been
flying for nearly 21 years and had never been in a radial-engined aircraft
before, and I still remembered snapping up the offer before he could quite
finish uttering the words wanna a ride in the back of the Ya He nearly
lost his right arm that day, and that was during his medical for a CAA
medical renewal!

My first impression of the aircraft was its a long way off the ground
to get up onto the wing. Once strapped in, it felt roomy and exciting,
as you can see all the cables and levers moving. The throttle grip is what
I called man-size, and it felt solid like gripping someone's fist (trust
me - Im a doctor !).

ENGINE START- I loved it! Nice solid growl. It meant business and it
wanted to play.
TAXYING - Oh dear! Really showed myself up here. The combination of
a castoring nose wheel, and judicial use of the pneumatic brakes must have
given the spectators a good giggle, and the instructor a heart attack;
probably from embarrassment. But after a few sessions, I can assure you
that it can be mastered with a bit of anticipation.

THE take-off was breathtaking. After lining up on the centre line, everything
just happened as soon as the power went on and the brakes went off. You
just seem to go where the nose is pointing in the sky. None of your toe
pressures on the rudder pedals, you needed bootfuls to keep that ball centralised.
The flying was magic. It reminded me of my old Labrador dog, Cinders, who
use to stay faithfully by your side, quietly watching, and just looking
up every now and then to catch your eyes, to see if you were ready to play.
I would say that the Yak is easy to fly for fun, but challenging to fly
well and accurately. The most difficult part of that first flight was knowing
where to look for the correct instrument, and guessing what the figures
( in metric) were telling you. Again, it boils down to practice.

THE approach was something else. From where I thought it would be a
definite overshoot into the next county in the old Piper PA 28, in the
Yak, once the power was reduced, and the flaps were deployed, you felt
that you were comfortably held back by all that drag to make an reasonable
short field landing; but more of the technique another time! It definitely
helps if you are familiar with a tail-dragger type of approach and landing.

THE NEXT SESSION - after having been spoilt by the impression of near
ecstacy and easy handling, Arthur informed me that the current training
programme involved getting out of every situation that the A/C is capable
of getting you into, and for a start, that involved a DYNAMIC STALL ( whats
that ?- he enquired innocently). Put the A/C into a steep turn, then start
pulling harder and harder, and see what happens! As the scenery ahead exploded
into a whirlpool, I tried hard to keep my stomach down below my throat,
and at the same time tried to act nonchalant by asking seemingly intellectual
questions like - can you make it turn the other direction ? to which Arthur
replied - it all depends on which rudder pedal pressure you have on. Let
me show you!

ARG...... THE INSTRUCTIONS - At the local club, we pride ourselves by
making the difficult excercises seem manageable to the student, and to
give the impression that flying is not beyond the grasp of the average
student pilot, in case we scared them off. A lot of minor annoyances from
the customers, and an equally large amount of tolerances excercised by
the instructors seem to compensate for each other. However, the Russian
training techniques, not having been spoilt by having to put up with such
pampering in the past, could at first sight seem harsh for the uninitiated
or unhumiliated trainee. My first telling off by the CFI was for releasing
the parking brakes and taxying before the oil temperature has reached the
recommended level; I didn't even know which dial I was supposed to be looking
at! But I do think that this sort of aviation discipline is well worthwhile
and is sadly lacking in modern western style of training where we are all
trying hard to be make-believe airline pilots, and less and less emphasis
is put on Looking After the aircraft, and to be part of the Man-Machine
unit. I would readily humble myself and accept any further criticisms and
instructions in this process of learning to become a complete airman.

THE FUTURE - I look forward to the day when I can feel as much at ease
with flying the YAK as my instructors do, they can make the aircraft sing
and dance to their tune! Many thanks to Gena, Victor, and especially Arthur
for their inspirations and my aspirations.

PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS - Don't let the wife know about the size of my
Overdraft and the colour of my Underwear!